A Cloud journey to take you sky-high

3Reaching the end-point of a Cloud journey may seem like a distant prospect for many. Indeed, Redcentric’s ‘Journey to the Cloud’ research found that 41% of organisations have just begun the process of rolling out Cloud services, only a third have reached the half way point and just 3% have completed their cloud implementations. It’s likely then that some organisations are establishing Cloud services tentatively, suggesting that they still require guidance, support and encouragement to give them confidence that they are working according to best practice.

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If the journey to the cloud is stalling, the problem may lie with the industry that the organisation operates in. Less than half (44%) of organisations claim that they work in a pro-Cloud industry, calling for an attitude change in certain sectors to make them more embracing of Cloud. Around one in five IT managers in public sector organisations, for example, told us that they work in a ‘quite anti-Cloud’ sector, so it may be hard for them to win over acceptance when implementing the Cloud. Don’t see it as beyond you, however, to convince board-level executives that Cloud is the way forward. As an IT manager, it is down to you to show how the Cloud can innovate the organisation and support business objectives.

only 4% of organisations were found to be using cloud to take risks

While the Cloud is a worthwhile tool to support innovation, only 4% of organisations were found to be using it to take risks. It’s quite rare for organisations to accept the ‘ups and downs’ that the Cloud can offer, or to be open-minded about what direction they will take. Instead, the most common approach to adopting the Cloud is to be evolutionary, as half of organisations showed signs of taking a steady approach where Cloud is a natural progression for the organisation. But this isn’t using the Cloud to its full advantage. Every organisation faces the need to innovate. Often this is to respond to a changing market place, maintain a competitive edge, or just to increase efficiency. The Cloud can change your whole business model, for example, by enabling services being put online. Alternatively, the Cloud can let you to scale up IT when seasonal demands occur, giving you flexibility of data storage. The Cloud can help you reach goals like this, but you’ll struggle to do so if you don’t trial and test different services, and instead just use the Cloud as a replacement of technology.

Implementing and maintaining the Cloud has its risks, so it’s common for organisations to turn to a key stakeholder when concerns arise. A clear majority (79%) of organisations say that the in-house IT team is seen as the most valuable ‘partner’ when adopting the Cloud. This means that organisations are likely to look internally, as opposed to the service provider, when looking for Cloud guidance. This calls for the in-house IT team to receive substantial training prior to beginning a Cloud roll out to ensure that they can advise and consult the rest of the organisation adequately.

But even when you’ve won over Cloud acceptance internally, established how it will support your organisation and prepared for the transition, it’s important to establish your ultimate Cloud destination. While it pays to experiment along the way, you must ensure that you have a strategy in place to get the full effects. The journey you take can shape the destination you arrive at, so ensure that you to take a route that meets your needs. Without a strategy rolling out the Cloud can be a long and onerous process, but under careful planning you can be confident that the process is as quick, effective and safe as possible.